Siphon for cans



(No Model.)

J. F. THOMPSON.

, SIPHON FOR CANS. No. 442,696.

Patented Dec. 16, 1890-.

JAMES F. THOMPSON,

FFIOE.

PATENT OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SIPHON FOR CQANS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,696, dated December16, 1890.

Application filed February 17, 1890. Serial No. 340,727. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES F. THOMPSON, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usef ulImprovements in Si phons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in siphons intended for drawingliquid from cans, tanks, barrels, or other storage-vessels.

The invention consists in the matter hereinafter described, and pointedout in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawing, illustrating my invention, shows an oil-canprovided with an orifice in its top, together with a siphon embodying myinvention passing through the stopper, which is inserted in saidorifice, the can being shown partially in section to render visible thefull length of the siphon, and the latter bein gpartially in section toshow a valve therein.

As shown in said drawing, A indicates an oil can or tank of familiarconstruction, having a central orifice a in its top and an airinletpassage a, which is closed by a cork or stopper a The can or tank isshown as provided with the usual marginal strengtheningflange A at itsbottom, which extends below the bottom wall A of the can and acts tosustain the latter considerably above the shelf or other horizontalsurface upon which the can rests.

B indicates the siphon as a whole, the same consisting of a metal tubebent into U form, with one of its parallel parts or legs shorter thanthe other. The shorter leg I) of the siphon is located within the can Aand passes at its upper end through a stopper O, which is inserted inthe filling-orifice a. of the can. The said shorter leg I) of the siphonis adapted to slide in the stopper O, thereby enabling the siphon to bebodily moved vertically when in operative position upon or within thecan. The longer leg I) of the siphon extends clownwardly outside of thecan to a point near or below the bottom wall of the same in the usual Din the drawing indicates a metal guide through which the longer leg I)of the siphon passes, said guide serving to hold the longer leg of thesiphon in place and to guide it "when the siphon is Vertically moved.The can herein illustrated is made of sheet metal and surrounded by acylindrical covering A of thin wood, applied in a manner heretoforecommon and well known. In connection with a can of this kind the guide Dis preferably made of sheet metal and provided with an aperture for thepassage of the siphon and secured to the covering A by nails or screwsin the manner illustrated.

E is a spring applied to the siphon to lift or raise the latter bodily.Said spring, as herein shown, is connected with the stopper 0 and withthe shorter leg of the siphon and acts by its contraction to lift orraise said siphon.

In the particular construction herein shown the spring E is of coiledform and surrounds the leg I) of the siphon, the lower end of the springbeing connected by solder with the siphon and the upperend secured to asleeve F, which is inserted through the stopper 0, and is provided atits lower end with aflange f, to which said spring is directly connectedconveniently by soldering. The upper end of said sleeve F is attached toa plate F, covering the top of the stopper, and which serves, inconnection with the flange f, to hold the sleeve in place within thestopper. A collar or shoulder e, secured upon the leg I) of the siphon,serves as a stop to limit the upward movement of the latter under theaction of the spring E by contact with the lower end of the sleeve F.The spring E, together with the stop 6, serves to maintain the siphon inposition with its lower end raised considerably above the bottom wall Aof the can, except when the siphon is pressed downwardly by hand againstthe action of said spring. At the lower end of said shorter leg I) ofthe siphon is located an inwardly-opening springvalve, indicated as awhole by G, said valve being held normally closed by the spring whichmoves it, and being provided with a part attached to or moving with thevalve, and which projects outside of the Valve and attached to the outerwall of the can and is so located as to strike against the bottom wallof the can, or to encounter some other stationary part of or upon thecan when the siphon is depressed, and thereby open the valve against theaction of the valve-actuating spring.

In the particular construction of the parts herein shown the valve Gcomprises a valve shell or casing G, secured to the lower end of thesiphon-tube. Within the lower part of said casing is located avalve-seat g, to which is fitted a valve-disk g, having attached to it astem g which passes downwardly through the valve-seat to a point belowthe lower end of the valve stem or casing, so that it will encounter thebottom wall A of the can when the siphon is depressed. A spiral springG2 is placed between the top surface of the valvedisk 9' and the upperwall of the shell or cats ing G. Said spring acts to hold the valvediskclosed against its seat, except when said i disk is thrust downwardly bycontact of the stem g with the bottom wall of the can or other piece orpart of or upon the same. Said stem g is herein shown as provided withvertical ribs, which fit against the sides of the opening in thevalve'seat g, and thus serve as guides for the valve-disk. The shell orcasing G is preferably extended somewhat be low the valve-seat andnotched or recessed at its lower margin, so that when the casing strikesthe bottom of the can the downward movement of the siphon will bearrested without interrupting the flow of liquid through the valve.

H indicates a collar or gasket of rubber or similar material placedaround the siphon above the stopper C and adapted to come in contactwith the upper edge of the sleeve F when the siphon is depressed, so asto make a tight joint at this point and prevent the leakage of theliquid outwardly through the joint between the stopper and the siphon.Such collar or gasket II will be used only when it is desired to fillthe siphon in starting the same by tipping the can bodily until theliquid from the can fills the entire length of the siphon -tube. \Vhenit is desired to fill the tube in this manner, the siphon is presseddownwardly until the valve G is opened and the collar or gasket lzl.comes against the top of the stopper, after which the can may be tippedwhile holding the siphon in this position until the liquid flowingi.'rom the can reaches the lower end of the siphon or begins to flowtherefrom, when the siphon may be immediately released, whereupon theclosing of the valve will retain the charge of fluid within thesiphon-tube, and it will be in readiness for subsequent or im mediateusein drawing liquid from the can. The gasket H can of course be moved orshifted in thetube to correspond with the varying sizes of differentcans. The joint between the siphon and stopper may be made sufficientlytight to prevent the escape of fluid at this point without the use of apacking or gasket, but for-ordinary purposes the joint will be looseenough to allow the tube to slide freely in the stopper, in which casethe gasket will preferably be used.

It will of course be understood that after the siphon is once filled inthe manner described or otherwise it may be used for an indefinitelength of time without refilling, inasmuch as the closing of the valve Gwill prevent the charge of fluid from flowing from the siphon, even whenthe latter is held with its ends downward, atmospheric pressure at suchtime preventing the escape of fluid from the longer leg of the siphon.

' The siphon may be charged or filled in other ways than as abovedescribedas, for instance, by inverting it and pouring fluid into one ofits ends when the valve G is held open or by applying air pressure tothe liquid within the can when said valve is similarly held openas, forinstance, in the apparatus illustrated the siphon may be depressed untilthe valve is opened and the airspace about the tube is closed by thegasket H, and air may then be blown into the opening a,- until thesiphon becomes filled with liquid.

After the siphon is once filled or charged and it is desired to drawliquid from the can, it is only necessary to depress the siphon untilthe valve-stem strikes the bottom of the can or other part located inposition to be encountered by the stem, when the valve will be openedand the liquid will begin to flow through thesiphon and will continue toflow until the siphon is released or allowed to rise, and the valve isagain closed. It will of course be seen that the same spring whichoperates to close the valve, if made of sufficient strength, will alsolift the tube and one spring only may therefore be employed to performboth functions. The use of a second spring acting upon the siphon-tubeto sustain the latter a considerable distance above the lowermost limitof its movement is of advantage, however, for the reason that the lowerend of the outer or longer leg of the siphon may thereby be sustained aconsiderable distance below the bottom or lower edge of the can when thesiphon is in use, thus enabling the lower end of the siphon to bebrought into position more convenient for filling a lamp or other vesselfrom the siphon. The use of a can having. a flange or rib A at itsbottom is of advantage, as the presence of such flange or rib enablesthe outer leg of the siphon to be made considerably longer than theother leg. 7

q I indicates a sliding sleeve, which is placed upon the lower end ofthe leg b of the siphon, to extend the same downward. Such sleeve is ofgreat advantage'in filling lamps or other vessels when the same cannotbe conveniently held close to the siphon properas,- for instance, whenthe can rests on a shelf and it is desired to place the lamp or othervessel on r a table below it while being filled or to meet inequalitiesin the height of the vessels to be;

The external part of the siphon may be made of rubber or other flexibletubing when the liquids used are of such character as to admit of theuse of such tubing.

I claim my invention 1. A tank or vessel combined with a siphon providedwith a valve at the lower end of its shorter leg, and having a stem orprojection attached to the movable part of the valve and extendingoutside of the vaivecasing, and a spring applied to lift the siphon,substantially as described. A

2. A tank or vessel combined with a siphon provided with aspring-actuated valve at the lower end of its shorter leg, and having astem or projection extending outside of the valvecasing, and a springapplied to the siphon for lifting the same, substantially as described.

3. A tank or vessel and a stopper combined with a siphon sliding in saidstopper, said siphon being provided with a spring-actuated valve at thelower end of its shorter leg and having a stem or projection extendingoutside of the valve-casing, and a spring engaging the siphonand stopperfor lifting the former.

4. The combination, with a tank or vessel and a stopper, of a siphonsliding in the stopper and provided with a valve at its lower end, and acollar or gasket upon the siphon to close the joint between the siphonand the stopper when the siphon is depressed, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination, with 'a vessel and a stopper, of a siphon slidingvertically through the stopper and an external guide on the vessel forthe longer leg of the siphon, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invent-ion Iaflix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES F. THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

C. CLARENCE POOLE, GEORGE W. HIGGINS, Jr.

